Russia's Civil Aviation Authority Denies Resumption Of Flights To Egyptian Resorts

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, has refuted media reports claiming that charter flights from Russia to Egypt's resort cities of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh will resume soon

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2021) The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, has refuted media reports claiming that charter flights from Russia to Egypt's resort cities of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh will resume soon.

Some media reported on Thursday, citing Ashraf Noweir, the head of Egypt's Civil Aviation Authority, that direct flights from Moscow to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh were expected to resume on February 28 following a five-year pause.

"Rosaviatsiya does not confirm the assumptions of individual mass media about the resumption of charter flights to Egyptian resort cities," the authority said.

The Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) has not yet received any official information from Moscow and Cairo that could confirm the media reports, ATOR Vice President Dmitry Gorin told Sputnik.

"No official information came in either from the Russian or from the Egyptian side. The flights to Cairo continue to operate under an extended schedule and increased quota. There are already flights not only from Moscow but also from [other] Russian cities ... But there is no official information about the opening of the flight program to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh," Gorin said.

In November 2015, the air traffic between Russia and Egypt was suspended in the wake of the fatal crash of a Russian passenger aircraft on the Sinai Peninsula. In 2018, Russia resumed regular flights to Cairo, but charter flights to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh are still under a ban.